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Oddo to city DOT: Think of Staten Island as an 'incubator' when it comes to street repairs

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Borough President James Oddo hosted New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and others at Borough Hall Tuesday to discuss transportation issues on Staten Island.
(Photo courtesy of Borough Hall/Peter Trivelas)

A much-anticipated Borough Hall confab on transportation -- specifically targeted to the woeful state of the borough's streets -- broke little new ground Tuesday, with city officials maintaining that the asphalt that the Department of Transportation (DOT) uses to plug and re-plug potholes here is adequate.

Still, city DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg promised Borough President James Oddo her office "will come up with three to five experimental, out-of-the-box things to do pilot programs on," Oddo said.

"I told her to think of Staten Island as an incubator," said Oddo after the nearly two-hour closed-door meeting. "I kept repeating myself, that whatever the approach has been hasn't resulted in drivable, sound streets. We are on a hamster wheel."

While pitched as the revitalization of Borough Hall's Traffic & Transportation Task Force, the focus was solely on the condition of Staten Island's side streets, roadways and main thoroughfares.

Oddo said the next meeting, slated for late June, will focus on transportation capital projects.

"We let her know that the status quo is not working and not acceptable," said Oddo.

Still, Oddo said he got "push back" and "pooh-poohed" by the long-time DOT staffers, who Ms. Trottenberg had brought with her, when he mentioned trying various "technology alternatives," such as the rubberized asphalt being used on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a company used by state DOT known for the durability of its asphalt.

He said DOT staffers maintained the asphalt currently trucked in from New Jersey, which Oddo and others here say cools by the time it gets here, is adequate.

Oddo also said Ms. Trottenberg made it clear DOT "is not looking to run an asphalt plant here" -- something Oddo has been pushing for, but she allowed that if a Staten Island entity could be found to do the job, DOT "would be interested" in using its product.

Ideally, Oddo said he'd like to see DOT try one of its promised pilot programs on acquiring and using a different kind of asphalt.

On the plus-side, Oddo said Ms. Trottenberg pledged to review with him the streets set to be milled and paved -- including streets in Sandy buyout areas -- "to make sure they reflect our priorities."

She also committed to repaving 120 lane miles on Staten Island during the next fiscal year. Some 1,000 lane miles are typically repaved by DOT citywide during that time period.

Oddo said Ms. Trottenberg promised to "dig into the data" after a Daily News report charged that utility companies are ripping up roads around the city -- including newly paved streets -- to make repairs. Last year, the city issued more than 2,100 fines connected with illegal utility repairs, the report said.

Elsewhere, Oddo said state DOT representatives pledged a "full resurfacing" of the Staten Island Expressway (SIE) from Victory Boulevard to the Goethals Bridge going forward. The exact timing, however, has apparently not been set. The SIE is currently undergoing a massive overhaul.

Said Oddo post-meeting: "Did we shatter the status quo? No. Did we get some movement? I hope so. I think they understand that we do not need to just tweak the fringes. Last year's winter wasn't the reason for the problems; it was the fuse."

The Island's Council delegation attended the meeting:

"Among the issues in my district brought to the commissioner's attention were the unacceptable conditions of Richmond Terrace and the ramps to the Staten Island Expressway," said Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) afterward.

"My constituents and I encounter pothole after pothole on these roads every day, and they are a safety issue that must be dealt with immediately. We look forward to receiving from the commissioner a list of streets scheduled for repaving this year, so that we can see how roads are being prioritized. I hope to see some results from this meeting, most importantly, a change from the status quo and the exploration of new technology for paving and filling potholes."

"I recently received over a hundred pothole-filling requests in response to my newsletter," Councilman Steve Matteo (R-Mid-Island) told the Advance afterward. "That demonstrates what Staten Islanders already know, that we need to find common-sense solutions to our road problems. We need more comprehensive pothole repairs, a dedicated borough wear-and-tear crew and cooperation with state DOT to pave our highway ramps. Today's meeting is the start of an ongoing dialogue ... and will be the ideal forum to ensure that goals are reached and benchmarks for progress are met ... I look forward to tackling other traffic related concerns, such as intersection widenings, additional left turn signs and longer turning bays."

"Having everyone in the same room is an effective way for our transportation agencies to hear from us and the issues our constituents face every day here on Staten Island," said Councilmand Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore). "Borough President Oddo and the Council delegation made our voices heard and had some agreements on the use of new technology and enhanced efforts in repairing our roads from New York City and New York state DOT. We will keep the focus on these problems and have additional meetings about road repair, widenings and capital constriction that will help us alleviate our traffic woes.

"Today was a productive launch of the new Staten Island Transportation Task Force," said Ms. Trottenberg. "I look forward to working closely with Borough President Oddo, and Council Members Ignizio, Matteo and Rose to address the issues raised today from repairing Staten Island's roads to addressing Sandy Recovery areas."

Representatives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also were in attendance.